How to Get Away With Murder – Law Street https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com Law and Policy for Our Generation Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 100397344 How Not to Get Away With Murder: Say It’s Your Murder Novel Script https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/not-get-away-murder-say-murder-novel-script/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/not-get-away-murder-say-murder-novel-script/#respond Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:30:48 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.wpengine.com/?p=29666

After being charged with hiring someone to kill her former boyfriend, a woman comes up with a unique murder defense.

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Image courtesy of [Roger via Flickr]

If you tell people you want to write a book/movie/play, etc., you will likely hear something along the following: “A good writer writes from personal experience.” And Maryann Castorena might just have followed that advice a little too closely to its intended meaning.

This story came to light when Jose Hernandez’s body was found buried in the snow by his still-running car. Hernandez was the former paramour of Castorena and the former roommate of Anthony Delagarza, who was arrested for the murder and then confessed to the crime. However, he claimed he was not acting alone. According to Delagarza, Castrorena offered to pay him $50,000 to commit the murder so that she could cash in on Hernandez’s life insurance. And it turned out this was not a case of his word against hers. There was a pretty detailed letter involved.

The letter from Castorena, found in the backpack of the killer, basically said things like the following:

  • Are we still on for that ‘thing we discussed’ (wink, wink)?
  • Just do it right by his car.
  • The snow will cover it up.
  • Don’t drop stuff on the ground that people can find.
  • Don’t park by the gas station or ATM that’s right there because there might be cameras there.

You get the point. It was basically an advice column on how to kill one specific person. According to Castorena, though, this is all just a big coincidence. Her letter was not about having Hernandez killed, but about making money. I know, I know, it seems like one and the same: she was going to make money by having him killed; however, that was not actually her plan. You see, what the police thought was a letter addressed to a hit man on how to kill an individual man, was actually a movie script/book idea that Castorena wrote after overhearing two women talking.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Strangely, this story was met with a few raised eyebrows. I mean, believable as her claim was, there actually were a few … plot holes. Like, why were these women talking about killing someone in such a specific manner in a public place? Were they trying to kill Hernandez or just anyone? If it was Hernandez, why would Castorena write a movie about it instead of going to the cops? I mean, at the very least she should want this nipped in the bud so that there would be no spoilers, right? Why would she have the murder in the movie take place right outside of her boyfriend’s place near the same ATM and gas station that was really there? Why was the letter written as an instruction sheet and not a book or script? You probably get the picture.

Since nobody seemed to buy her completely legitimate, realistic story, she had to write another one: she finally admitted to police that this was not actually a book idea, but that it was a letter she wrote about the murder of Hernandez … that Delagarza made her write. Wait! You don’t think that sounds realistic either? Okay. Um. She means … oh! She’s got it! This guy broke into her apartment one night and forced her to write that letter at knifepoint! That’s it! That’s what happened!

Delagarza is saying that not even that last, clearly likely version of her tale is accurate, though, and maintains that it was, in fact, Castorena who wanted Hernandez dead. The alleged playwright is being charged with a whole bunch of crimes, including murder. She better hope that the judge is a Mark Twain fan who knows that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Ashley Shaw
Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Diversity on TV: The New Normal? https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/issues/entertainment-and-culture/diversity-on-tv-new-normal/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/issues/entertainment-and-culture/diversity-on-tv-new-normal/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2014 18:59:29 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.wpengine.com/?p=26905

Is the industry changing?

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Image courtesy of [Peabody Awards via WikiMedia]

With the success of recent television shows like ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Black-ish,” many in the industry are starting to reevaluate their positions on race in television. The “old guard” of television often said that the American people wouldn’t watch a television show that heavily featured characters who weren’t white — often relegating anyone who doesn’t fit into that box to a life of being the sidekick, or worse yet, losing all sense of identity and being whitewashed.

Characters on television shows need to be interesting, developed, and sympathetic. The diversity of a character does not only fall in ethnic background, but it is certainly a way to give that character a deeper history. Still — as someone who regularly watches television it is clear that on-screen diversity on screen is growing, especially when you consider shows like “Scandal”, “Glee”, “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Orange is the New Black”. It is pretty much expected now for a show to have one character who doesn’t fall into the cis-gendered straight white category.

And we are noticing — think back to all of the press and negative coverage that “Girls” received (and still receives) because of its lack of ethnic diversity. But “Girls” is just one in a long line of history.

Still, one must consider some of the most popular television shows in the last two decades. These shows, the ones that get the push from the individual stations and the media, are still white. “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Will & Grace,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Sex and the City” were all the most popular shows when they were airing, and they all featured white friends in New York City.

But why is this still happening when, according to Nielsen, white people don’t even make up the majority of the viewing audience?

“It’s not only that the African-American audience watches more TV, but it’s substantially more — two hours over other groups,” Ron Simon, head curator at the Paley Center for Media, told theGrio in an interview. “It’s known in the industry, but it certainly hasn’t gotten the attention I think that it deserves.”


Race and Watching Habits

Race is a social construct — that is the first thing we need to realize if we are going to discuss race at all. It is a way to categorize people into neat groups.

Except those groups aren’t so neat anymore.

Here are some pretty startling statistics about race and television in the United States:

This is a problem. When you look at the statistics, stations like Mundo, which focuses on the Latino community, or BET, which focuses on the black community, sometimes overtake shows on mainstream networks that are fledgling. According to the report, African Americans watch 37 percent more television than other demographics, which means that they are watching shows that don’t always represent them in the best light. Or worse — they are watching shows that don’t represent them at all.


Whitewashing

Whitewashing happens when an actor or actress is completely stripped of his or her ethnic qualities and either declared or assumed white by the writers and viewers of the show. Whitewashing is a dangerous happenstance because it not only eliminates the ethnic identity of the actors, but it also impacts the fans of the show. As we become more and more connected to our television shows through social media, and we know more and more about the actors, it seems harmful to completely remove their cultures. However, what about the people who don’t follow the actors and know their backstories — they simply never realize that they are watching someone who isn’t just white.

“Vaguely Eurasian”

One of the better shows on television when it comes to portraying diversity is Fox’s “Glee.” The show has been groundbreaking (though sometimes problematic) in giving light to all different types of characters. There’s no doubt that Kurt Hummel will go down as one of the revolutionary LGBT characters on television. But what about his boyfriend? Darren Criss, the actor who plays Blaine Anderson, is half Irish from his father and Filipino from his mother. Early in his tenure on the show, he is referred to as “Vaguely-Eurasian” by another character. Vaguely-Eurasian. It seems like a slap in the face because Darren Criss is clearly part Filipino. He has almond eyes with extravagant lashes, medium gold toned skin, and thick black curls. Many just assumed his character had the same history that he did.

Until the next season, when they cast Matt Bomer as his brother. Matt Bomer is a fantastic actor, but he is English mixed with Welsh, Scottish, and German. Now this wouldn’t be a problem if the show had given context for his family, but they haven’t. One cannot assume that there was a remarriage or they are step brothers. They are called brothers in canon, so that is what the viewer must take them to be. Could it possibly be that Fox didn’t want to push the boundaries by showing a couple that was gay AND two different races? Not so fast — another couple on the show, Brittany and Santana, fit that bill. So why whitewash Blaine Anderson? Is it because Darren Criss could pass as white? Is it because Darren Criss is the heartthrob of the show, and the heartthrob couldn’t possibly be anything other than white? Is it a push from Fox? Or are they not whitewashing him, just not talking about it? Glee isn’t the only show that does it, and it isn’t always a problem. But there is the question: why did they choose to whitewash him on a show where diversity is celebrated?


Awards and the Changing Times

The Emmy Awards are always a point of contention for viewers of television shows. The same complaints always arise during nominations — “why wasn’t [insert name here] nominated?” or, “Wow! [insert name here] was snubbed!”

One of the biggest snubs of the 2014 Emmys was of sitcom actress Mindy Kaling.

Kaling was a surefire nomination for her show “The Mindy Project” because she had been tapped to announce the nominees. When it came time to announce the category she was supposed to be nominated in, her name was nowhere to be found.

Is this a case of racism on television, or were there just more worthy nominees?

While we can’t get into the mind of the voters it is important to note that there has been only one non-white woman who has won an Emmy for acting in a leading comedic role: America Ferrera as Ugly Betty.

In fact, 2013 was the first time ever an African American woman won an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama: Kerry Washington for “Scandal.”


Why don’t we have more diversity on TV?

Could the lack of diversity on television be caused by a lack of diversity among its writers? That is certainly a possibility. Shonda Rhimes is one of the only black female writers to get a television show of her own, and she now has three: “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away With Murder” – all of which have strong, diverse characters.

So what are we to do to encourage more representation on television? Part of it is up to the viewer: demand it. Don’t watch shows that feature people of color in supporting roles that are degrading. Tweet about it to the companies, the actors, and the writers. Support shows that do provide a realistic depiction of diversity.

We need to also encourage more children of color to go into the arts, whether it be acting, writing, or directing.

The steps aren’t going to happen overnight, sadly, and the momentum is shifting — we just need to continue pushing.


Resources

Primary 

Critical Media Project

Center for Media Literacy: Does TV Shape Ethnic Images?

Additional

Salon: Whitewashed TV Isn’t Just Racist. It’s Boring! 

The New York Times: Minorities in Movies and Television

Grio: Nielsen Report Confirms Blacks Watch More TV Than Any Other Group

Hollywood Reporter: The Emmy’s Rocky Race Relations

Lee & Low Books: Where’s the Diversity? A Look at the Emmy Awards and TV 

San Jose Mercury News: Fall TV 2014: Diversity, is all the Rage–Finally

Noel Diem
Law Street contributor Noel Diem is an editor and aspiring author based in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is an alum of Albright College where she studied English and Secondary Education. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, theater, fashion, and literature. Contact Noel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The Best Legal Tweets of the Week: LSAT Edition https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/law/best-legal-tweets-week-lsat-edition/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/law/best-legal-tweets-week-lsat-edition/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2014 10:31:43 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.wpengine.com/?p=25748

Unfortunately, watching How To Get Away With Murder and Scandal won't get you into law school.

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In honor of this weekend’s round of LSATs, this week’s edition of Best Legal Tweets highlights all those prospective law students as they count down to the big deadline. One thing’s for sure: future lawyers LOVE Shonda Rhimes and her legal dramas. Unfortunately, watching “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Scandal” won’t get you into law school. Good luck to the test takers!

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Chelsey D. Goff
Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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